


In December As In May

by zarabithia



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-04-28
Updated: 2008-04-28
Packaged: 2020-10-06 18:56:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20511875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarabithia/pseuds/zarabithia
Summary: Two generations of Robins speculate on the Superman/Batman affair.





	In December As In May

_Will you love me in December as you do in May,_  
Will you love me in the good old fashioned way?  
When my hair has all turned gray,  
Will you kiss me then and say,  
That you love me in December as you do in May?  
~James J. Walker 

"I don't understand, Alfred," Dick said as he gratefully took the proffered peanut-butter and jelly sandwich from the older man. Dick tried to sit still on the stool, as his three months in the Manor had taught him that it was the kind of behavior Alfred and Bruce expected while he ate, no matter how unnatural it might have felt to Dick. Still, his legs swung almost of their own accord, wrapping and unwrapping stubbornly around the legs of the stool as he ate.

"What has you perplexed, Master Dick?" Alfred asked, sitting the glass of milk down beside Dick.

"I thought Batman hated metas," Dick explained.

"It would be preferable for you to swallow before asking questions, Master Dick."

Dick contemplated telling Alfred that he'd been able to talk with his mouth full in the circus. He dismissed the plan, not only because it was untrue, but mostly because he didn't think Alfred would believe him. Alfred usually knew when someone was lying.

So he swallowed the next bite of his sandwich, and even tried to lick away the sticky part of the peanut butter on the roof of his mouth, before asking, again, "I thought Batman hated people with powers."

"It's not a matter of hate, Master Dick, as it is not wanting those influences in his city."

Dick didn't see how that was any different. But that wasn't really the point, anyway. "But he _does_ hate Superman."

"On the contrary, Master Clark is one of Master Bruce's closest friends."

Dick wrinkled his nose. "But they yell at each other all the time." Mostly, it was Batman yelling. Superman didn't yell so much as cross his arms and look disgusted.

"Indeed," was the only response Alfred would give him.

This was not nearly good enough for Dick. "Batman thinks Superman is headstrong and reckless. Superman thinks Batman is arrogant, prideful, and stubborn."

"Yes," Alfred agreed as he wiped the counter across from Dick. "That much is certainly true."

"So then why did Superman spend the night?" Dick demanded.

"Because, Master Dick, it is equally true that they care about each other a great deal," Alfred responded.

"That doesn't make any sense," Dick argued.

"Perhaps not now. Give it a few years, Master Dick, and you may come to understand their relationship quite well." Alfred gave Dick a small smile before taking Dick's empty plate.

Dick gave a shrug and decided that there were some things even Alfred didn't understand.

******

It had been a number of years since Dick had called Gotham home, and even longer since he had called the Manor home. The grey in his hair and the wrinkles around his eyes could testify to just how many years it had been.

But with Batman on a mission in space, Dick had promised that he'd drop by and keep an eye out on things in the town that never quite left Dick's blood, no matter how far away the Grayson-Harper-Anders home might have become.

Besides, Dick had never been able to tell his little brother no, and that hadn't changed when Tim had picked up the cowl.

So it was that Dick was sitting comfortably at the same kitchen counter he'd sat at many times before, eating his turkey and mayo sandwich, when the confused and irritated face of Robin bounded in and sat across from him.

Dick wasted no time in reaching for the cookie jar that had once held Alfred's homemade oatmeal and raisin, but now had to settle for store bought chocolate chip. Handing her a liberal four cookies that he would not have allowed Mar'i, he offered, "A cookie for your thoughts?"

"It's supposed to be a 'penny' for your thoughts," Helena offered, taking the bounty nonetheless.

"You can buy just as much with a cookie as you can a penny," Dick said with a grin. "And cookies taste better." He handed her a glass of milk before sitting back down and waiting expectedly.

"Sometimes," Helena noted, "Our family doesn't make any sense."

"Frequently." Dick nodded and wondered who Mar'i would make her first such confession to. Probably Lian. "What brought on this sudden revelation?"

"They gang up on me all the time," Helena said, with a petulant pout that was the spitting image of her mother's.

"Who? Tim and Jason?" Dick asked, confused at the very idea that Red Hood and Batman would ever agree on anything.

"No." Helena shook her head and scowled. "Jason mostly just laughs at me _and_ Tim. And comments on Tim's ass."

"Well, that was a little more than I wanted to know," Dick acknowledged. "Tim and Bruce?" He could see that. Dick was terrified at the very idea of training under both Tim and Bruce.

Again Helena shook her head. "Old Batman and Uncle Clark," she clarified.

"Helena, I really don't think you should call him 'old Batman,'" he suggested.

"Why not? He is old, and he was Batman," she answered.

"Well...true enough. So Bruce and Clark have been ganging up on you in training?" Dick clarified.

"Yeah. Feeding me horror stories about what could go wrong," Helena noted. "Like Mom doesn't do that already."

"I"m sure they mean well," Dick said, offering her another cookie to replace the four she'd already eaten. It was a rough job, being a Robin. It deserved lots of fuel, especially in the form of cookies.

"It's still annoying. And anyway, aren't they supposed to hate each other?" Helena asked.

"They care about each other more than most people I've known," Dick replied, taking a cookie for himself.

"The files say Old Batman used to have a Kryptonite ring," Helena insisted. "You know who else had a Kryptonite ring? Lex Luthor. And they probably fight _more_ than Uncle Clark ever did with Luthor. So what sense does it make that Uncle Clark spends all his time lately here with Old Batman, hanging out and ganging up on me between their verbal sparring matches with each other?"

"Actually, Clark gave him that ring," Dick said as nonchalantly as possible, just to watch Helena stare back at him in confusion. "It was a symbol of trust between them."

"That's really stupid," Helena opined.

"Maybe." Dick stood up and stretched. "C'mon, Robin. It's still early enough in the day to get in a few rounds of sparring before patrol."

"Okay. But if Jason starts talking about your ass, you're on your own," Helena said solemnly, stuffing the rest of her cookie in her mouth.

"I can't make any promises about Red Hood...but I promise not to make any comments about Clark's ass in your presence," Dick replied, equally solemnly.

Helena sighed. "Our _whole_ family is insane," she declared as she stood up to follow Dick into the Cave.


End file.
